Dear District Leaders
The Messenger is also Important as the Message
There cannot be one-size-fits-all approach when we fight Covid 19 globally and in particular within India. But some things have worked in the past during somewhat similar situations. The most important among them is building public confidence that we can win over any pandemic if you adhere to suggestions given by healthcare experts.
The news is alarming. With over 2.9 lakh cases, States are resorting to lockdowns and imposing severe curbs. People call this the second wave, but now we have tools to tackle the virus. Vaccines are the most reliable public health tools. Government has opened up the drive to anyone over the age of 18 years and this brings a great responsibility on Rotarians to promote the programme.
I still get reports that even Rotarians and those associated with Rotary work are still hesitant to accept the vaccine which is a life-saving scientific intervention. I hope you have sent an appeal to all the clubs in your district that every Rotarian and his/her spouse and now all eligible Annets must be vaccinated without wasting time. Probably a weekly reminder to every club is a necessity in today’s context.
Till Tuesday (20.4.2021) over 127.1 million doses of vaccines have been given and near 600 million new eligible people will be added to the beneficiary list from May 1, 2021. It is estimated that nearly 1,200 million doses will be needed to vaccinate all over 18 years if the pandemic has to be brought under control. This calls for Rotary clubs to allocate more time and monetary resources to stress the need for vaccination with the public. India has only administered about 9.21 vaccination doses per 100 persons which is lower than the world average of 11.8 doses per 100 people.
It is hoped that young adults (18 years to 25 years) will take advantage of the new vaccination policy and get the jab as soon as possible. You have to tell the Rotaractos and members of the clubs that they are the messengers chosen by the Government to help to fight this pandemic. The messengers, Rotarians, are trusted and you must set the example now.
Let us unite to fight the pandemic. Everything else can wait.